The Cupertino company has left this to third parties, with sometimes-unfortunate results.

Griffin Technology has sold one such extra-long syncing cable for a while. I like it, but it has two problems: It is a bit too thick, making it unwieldy, and the plug that goes into an iOS device’s Dock Connector does not stay in the way an Apple one does.

Annoyed with the Griffin cable, I recently bought a couple of 10-feet Khomo cables. These are stylishly thin and black. They are intended to work with every iOS gizmo, including the latest iPad, yet are a steal at $15 per pair.

I got what I paid for, I guess.

As I write this, I am watching the charge on my iPad dip lower and lower even though it is plugged into power via one of the Khomo cables. The tablet looks like it is charging – but the battery level keeps going down and not up.

The other Khomo cable was worse, showing no charging activity on the iPad when plugged in.